AMD or Nvidia??

[Phixsator]

I usually avoid buying used hardware unless i know and trust the person i'm buying it from, or i know it hasn't been abused (i'm a bit picky ).

I fully understand that. I feel the same way. But to be honest unless there are obvious flaws its usually a good way to save money and get something better at the same time. Putting that aside i would say that if you can afford it the r9 290 is a very good pick or if you want green card instead the 780gtx. IMHO opinion nothing beneath the 780 gtx is worth a look if we are talking nvidia. Just bought a 780 myself and i am very well pleased for the moment.

While im looking forward to "Mantle" and "True Audio" i dont think its wise to make it a reason for purchase until we have seen what it can actually do. And if its turns out that games like BF4 is getting a huuge boost well im already stomping it at 100+ fps anyway so i can live with that.

 

[imginy]

My friends 7970 Ghz edition is quite a bit faster than both my 7950 and 660Ti, so i thought i'd get a nice boost with a GTX 770 or R9 280X (basically a slightly improved GTX 680 and 7970).

Have you tried any custom bios on your 660t?They will give you a boost my old one was clocking up to 1300mhz and hitting 10000 points on 3dmark11 and my friends was hitting 10500 on 3dmark11.

Depends what your after really but I think spending all that money for a small improvement isn't worth it I would take that 780 windforce over a 770 4gb any day.

I could probably stretch to that, but will it be ok with a 600W PSU (gold rated with 48A on the 12V rail)? I'm not a big fan (no pun intended) of the Windforce coolers unless they're quieter on Nvidia cards than they are on a Radeon 7970... My friends one gets quite loud under load.

My 7950 windforce is quite loud also although reviews of the 780 windforce say it's pretty quiet under load
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_780_windforce_oc_review,9.html

In the reviews the card takes about 240w so depends on what else you have in your rig you might need new psu.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Honestly OP,just re-use your HD7950. You told me you can get upto 1100MHZ with it but the coil whine is a problem.

I just think you have been beset by upgradetitus.

I would ditch your In Win Dragon Slayer and get a case with better soundproofing like a Fractal R4 or a Define Mini.

Alternatively use some soundproofing on your current case.

 

[PowerPie5000]

Honestly OP,just re-use your HD7950. You told me you can get upto 1100MHZ with it but the coil whine is a problem.

I just think you have been beset by upgradetitus.

I would ditch your In Win Dragon Slayer and get a case with better soundproofing like a Fractal R4 or a Define Mini.

But the In-Win case has great cooling and is still a decent size (not too big), although i do hate the name!... Getting another case just adds more to the cost and at this rate i'll just end up building a whole new PC (and i only recently got my 3770K CPU lol ).

I didn't notice the coil whine at first on the 7950 (it suddenly appeared!), but it increases the more i overclock. The performance and temps are good (not the power consumption though), but it screams at different pitches with certain games ... It's pretty much silent when running stock and that's why i've relegated it to our other PC (replacing the slightly slower GTX 660Ti).

Right now i could buy an R9 280X or GTX 770 and still get cash back from selling my GTX 660Ti and any games that come with the new card... Doesn't sound too bad when i look at it that way, and i'll be getting a nice boost .

 

[PowerPie5000]

I have a feeling i might just end up flipping a coin soon... I'll wait maybe another week to see if any prices change or if there's any news about custom 290 cards (there's no way i'm forking out for a stock one ).

I definitely won't be sticking with the 660Ti (a bit slow for me, although it's still an ok card)... The 7950 can stay where it is too.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

But the In-Win case has great cooling and is still a decent size (not too big), although i do hate the name!... Getting another case just adds more to the cost and at this rate i'll just end up building a whole new PC (and i only recently got my 3770K CPU lol ).

I didn't notice the coil whine at first on the 7950 (it suddenly appeared!), but it increases the more i overclock. The performance and temps are good (not the power consumption though), but it screams at different pitches with certain games ... It's pretty much silent when running stock and that's why i've relegated it to our other PC (replacing the slightly slower GTX 660Ti).

Right now i could buy an R9 280X or GTX 770 and still get cash back from selling my GTX 660Ti and any games that come with the new card... Doesn't sound too bad when i look at it that way, and i'll be getting a nice boost .

However,a new case or better soundproofing will cost you under £75,and then use your HD7950. It also means your whole rig will be quieter too.It will still be cheaper to get a new case than buy a new graphics card for £290. Ebay fees will take a decent chunk of the sales costs,and selling on MM here would mean a lower sales price,with GTX670 pricing having cratered for new cards.

The thing is what will happen you will buy an R9 280X or a GTX770 for £290,then next month the custom cooled R9 290 cards will probably start appearing. If a bog standard one is £310,and a custom cooled one is released for a few quid more,you will end up getting upgradetitus again. I personally would not spend much more than £250 on a R9 280X or GTX770 at all.

The thing is coil whine can always happen with any new card you buy. So,IMHO making your case has soundproof as possible negates having to keep worrying whether any new card has to be sent back.

 

[no_1_dave]

Whatever card i get will probably last me a year as i've gotten into the habit of upgrading each year (although i'm skipping Haswell). My Radeon 7950 was bought just over a year ago as was my GTX 660Ti (7950 is now in another PC and i'll hopefully be selling the GTX 660Ti soon). I'm thinking in a years time i'll probably build a whole new PC depending on what Intel and AMD have to offer at the time.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this card for £287.99?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gainward GeForce GTX 770 Phantom 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £287.99
Total : £287.99 (includes shipping : FREE).




I'tll be even less if i decide to sell the games that come with it ... I don't even think the R9 cards even come with any free games.

Looks good.
You can get £30 back from the free games

 

[systemerror]

Buy a 780 or wait for a custom 290 don't waste your cash on a 770 or 280 from what you have

 

[melmac]

Why don't you wait until the end of next week to decide? We are going to find out what mantle is exactly next week. The AMD developer summit is on from the 11th to the 14th

 

[PowerPie5000]

Ok i'm too impatient and couldn't wait! I just ordered the Asus R9 280X DirectCUII TOP . That's me done with this current setup now... Give it a year or so and i'll probably build a whole new gaming rig anyway .

Might as well save some money and just stick with my current 1080p IPS display too... If i had bought a GTX 780 or 290 then i probably would have spent more money buying a 1440p screen too! I'll save that for the next build .

Thanks for the advice people!